Bill Text: NY S01693 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the identification, charging, reporting and investigation of charges of professional misconduct by health care professionals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-03-13 - SIGNED CHAP.11 [S01693 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S01693-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1693
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   January 14, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  HANNON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
       AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  identification,
         charging,  reporting  and  investigation  of  charges  of professional
         misconduct by health care professionals
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subdivision 9-b of section 230 of the public health law, as
    2  added by chapter 532 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
    3    9-b. Neither the board for professional medical conduct nor the office
    4  of professional medical conduct shall [identify,] charge A LICENSEE WITH
    5  MISCONDUCT   AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTIONS  SIXTY-FIVE  HUNDRED  THIRTY  AND
    6  SIXTY-FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE OF THE EDUCATION LAW, or  cause  a  report
    7  made to the director of such office to be investigated BEYOND A PRELIMI-
    8  NARY  REVIEW AS SET FORTH IN CLAUSE (A) OF SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF PARAGRAPH
    9  (A) OF SUBDIVISION TEN OF THIS SECTION, WHERE SUCH REPORT IS  DETERMINED
   10  TO  BE  based solely upon the recommendation or provision of a treatment
   11  modality TO A PARTICULAR PATIENT  by  [a]  SUCH  licensee  that  is  not
   12  universally accepted by the medical profession, including but not limit-
   13  ed  to,  varying  modalities  used  in the treatment of Lyme disease and
   14  other tick-borne diseases. [As used in this subdivision the term "licen-
   15  see" shall mean a physician,  physician's  assistant,  and  specialist's
   16  assistant.]  When  a  licensee, acting in accordance with paragraph e of
   17  subdivision four of  section  sixty-five  hundred  twenty-seven  of  the
   18  education  law,  recommends or provides a treatment modality that effec-
   19  tively treats human disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical  condi-
   20  tion FOR WHICH THE LICENSEE IS TREATING A PATIENT, the recommendation or
   21  provision of that modality TO A PARTICULAR PATIENT shall not, by itself,
   22  constitute  professional misconduct. [This prohibition shall not exoner-
   23  ate such licensee from otherwise applicable  professional  requirements]
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07678-01-5
       S. 1693                             2
    1  THE  LICENSEE SHALL OTHERWISE ABIDE BY ALL OTHER APPLICABLE PROFESSIONAL
    2  REQUIREMENTS.
    3    S  2.  Subparagraph  (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of section
    4  230 of the public health law, is amended by chapter 542 of the  laws  of
    5  2000, is amended to read as follows:
    6    (i) (A) The board for professional medical conduct, by the director of
    7  the  office  of professional medical conduct, may investigate on its own
    8  any  suspected  professional  misconduct,  and  shall  investigate  each
    9  complaint  received  regardless  of  the  source. BY THE CONCLUSION OF A
   10  PRELIMINARY REVIEW, INCLUDING AN INTERNAL CLINICAL REVIEW, SUCH DIRECTOR
   11  SHALL DETERMINE IF A REPORT IS BASED SOLELY UPON THE  RECOMMENDATION  OR
   12  PROVISION  OF A TREATMENT MODALITY BY A LICENSEE THAT IS NOT UNIVERSALLY
   13  ACCEPTED BY THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO VARYING
   14  MODALITIES USED IN THE TREATMENT OF LYME  DISEASE  OR  OTHER  TICK-BORNE
   15  DISEASES.  UPON  A DETERMINATION BY SUCH DIRECTOR THAT A REPORT IS BASED
   16  SOLELY  UPON  THE  PROVISION  OF  A  TREATMENT  MODALITY  THAT  IS   NOT
   17  UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED, NO FURTHER REVIEW SHALL BE CONDUCTED AND NO CHARG-
   18  ES SHALL BE BROUGHT. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PRECLUDE THE DIRECTOR
   19  FROM MAKING SUCH A DETERMINATION EARLIER IN, OR SUBSEQUENT TO, A PRELIM-
   20  INARY  REVIEW.  (B)  The  director of the office of professional medical
   21  conduct shall cause a preliminary review of every  report  made  to  the
   22  department  pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred three-e as added by
   23  chapter eight hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred  eighty,
   24  sections  twenty-eight  hundred  five-l and forty-four hundred five-b of
   25  this chapter, and section three hundred fifteen of the insurance law, to
   26  determine if such report reasonably appears to reflect physician conduct
   27  warranting further investigation pursuant to this subparagraph.
   28    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  any
   29  professional  discipline  matter  or  administrative  or judicial review
   30  thereof pending on or after the  date  on  which  this  act  shall  take
   31  effect;  provided,  however,  that the amendments to subparagraph (i) of
   32  paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of section 230 of the public health  law
   33  made  by section two of this act shall not affect the expiration of such
   34  paragraph and shall be deemed to expire therewith.